Winter of the Precursor
by just a rambling romantic
Summary: Winter has come to Konoha, and with it brings a strange new man: Uzumaki Naruto has come back to his past, and he’s looking for the one called Uchiha Sasuke.[sasunaru, maybe some OrochimaruKabuto] Just read the first chapter and you'll understand.ON HIATU
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Winter has come to Konoha, and with it brings a strange new man: Uzumaki Naruto has come back to his past, and he's looking for the one called Uchiha Sasuke. Eventual yaoi

I am not the Cast of Naruto's pimp… I don't own them…

FORESHADOWING! OH NOEZ!

Two men sat in the darkness of an abandoned building. One, his face shrouded in the shadows, made a gesture and the other hastened to his side.

"Bring me Sasuke." The man in shadows commanded in a cold, slightly musical voice.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." The ninja bowed his blonde head, and his ponytail swayed from the movement. Moving the spectacles to a more comfortable position on his face, he strode to the double doors.

Orochimaru watched the man move with half lidded eyes. Yes, Kabuto was a rare gem in his ranks. A missing nin from the village hidden in the leaves, good with most weapons and a rather gifted chef, not to mention he was damn sexy to look at.

His musings were interrupted when a man appeared in front of him.

"You called for me?" tired and cynical.

Orochimaru was slightly perturbed to see the Uchiha clan symbol displayed prominently on his sleeve. He had thought the boy would have gotten rid of his old pride by now, but some things never change.

"Yes," The snake sannin crossed one leg across the other in mock relaxation.

He stared at the eighteen-year-old through yellow eyes, smirking. It was a favorite game of his to call the Uchiha in and not tell him why.

Finally after seconds had turned into long minutes Sasuke finally asked, barely containing a snarl, "What do you want?"

"Ah, yes of course." Orochimaru grinned sadistically and tossed him a scroll from his belt. "Learn this jutsu by heart."

The ninja looked somewhat surprised, "What does it do?"

Kabuto had reclaimed his spot next to Orochimaru, and he was amused to see a flicker of curiosity dancing in the traitor's eyes.

"It will take you back in time." He purred, watching Kabuto's reaction. It was brilliant. The man had an endless array of expressions, and Orochimaru had yet to see them all.

"Go back to Konoha six years ago. Kill the Hokage and anyone who gets in your way, details are in the scroll." He delivered the objective without the use of the words, "I need you to…" After all, once a minion hears those words they begin to doubt the strength of their leader, and we just can't have that.

"But-" A sigh from the dark-eyed Uchiha, then a resigned, "Yes, my lord."

"Go, then, you have a lot to do." He allowed himself a laugh as Sasuke exited.

"Lord," Kabuto looked at him strangely, "Why didn't you just send him to kill the Hokage now?"

"Because, my dear Kabuto," Orochimaru's eyes lapped up the look of confusion on Kabuto's visage, "Six years ago the security surrounding the Hokage still had holes in it's defense, it's much simpler."

"Oh, I see, forgive me for doubting you." Kabuto bowed to him.

"Of course, dearheart, now do be a darling and make me a sandwich." Orochimaru said and waved a hand in dismissal.

Hahaha! Ah, I do love calling people 'Dearheart'. Sorry, Orochimaru may be a little OOC cause I haven't read the entire Naruto series. XDDD

**ANYONE WANNA BE MY BETA FOR THIS FIC? (Just tell me in you review! Bwaahaha! )**

_**IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN ACCOUNT ON FFdot NET THEN PLEASE LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS! )**_


	2. Chapter 2 BETAed

Disclaimer: don't own them, unfortunately I never will V.vUU

Warning: SASUNARU YAOI! OMFG!1!1111! one one one!11!

Summary: Winter has come to Konoha, and with it brings a strange new man: Uzumaki Naruto has come back to his past, and he's looking for the one called Uchiha Sasuke. Eventual yaoi AU

NEW! Reposting chapter two beta-ed by my wonderful, wonderful Beta, **Cue.Evil.Laugh **!

**Winter of the Precursor**

Snow…

It was snowing in the village hidden in the leaves…

Uzumaki Naruto opened his shutters to the early morning light, just before sunrise. The sky was a dull gray, accenting the white fluff floating down from the clouds. Pure blue orbs watched in delight as one of the small tufts of snow wafted down near his perch on the windowsill. He reached out one hand and caught it on an outstretched palm. He then watched as it melted into a small puddle and disappeared, leaving a tingling sense of cold against his warm flesh.

The streets were unusually silent. The snow seemed to have covered the village with a thick blanket, muffling all sound. Crunch, cruch, crunch. Naruto's keen ears picked up the sounds of someone walking through the snow. Leaning out of his window on the fifth floor, the genin looked to the right and saw no one. But to the left was a figure wrapped in a cloak. The man, Naruto assumed, wasn't dressed to be out in the middle of a snowstorm.

As the cloaked figure neared, Naruto confirmed that it was indeed a man. His sandaled feet were almost blue and muttered curses were audible. Naruto couldn't catch all of them, but he did hear something about how snow was awful and how the man preferred summer. This made Naruto smile, summer was his favorite season. Having nothing better to do, he settled into a sitting position and watched the traveler's progress down the road.

Finally the cloaked man was level with Naruto's apartment complex. The man stopped and Naruto kept staring at him. Minutes passed and Naruto finally tired of the stranger and decided to begin making breakfast, only to find he couldn't take his eyes off the man. He was entrancing, Naruto couldn't have moved even if he had wanted to.

Startlingly blue eyes blocked his vision and he snapped out of the trance. Startled, he jumped backwards. The traveler crouched outside of his windowsill with one hand keeping his upper body from leaning backwards and one foot on the wall, balancing his weight. Nonchalantly he raised his free wand in greeting.

"Hey." The man's voice was a smooth tenor. "Mind if I join you? It's freezing out there."

"Wh-who are you!" Naruto stuttered. The man pulled himself inside and brushed the hood of his cloak back, revealing his blonde hair.

"Who am I?" he repeated the question. He looked up for a moment as if trying to decide, "Howl? No, that one has copy write laws on it... How bout Kazu, yeah, that's it. My name is Kazu!"

"Kazu?" Naruto scowled at him, "Listen pal, I wasn't born yesterday! I'll have you know I'm a full-blown ninja! One day, I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

The stranger's eyes saddened at his last sentence, but if Naruto noticed, he didn't say anything. "A full-blown ninja, you said?" He ruffled Naruto's hair, "Well, then you must know Kakashi of the Sharingan, right?"

"Of course!" The kyuubi vessel swelled with importance, "He's my sensei!" A thought struck the blonde boy and he looked suspiciously at the man.

"Say, you aren't some crazy missing nin out to kill Kakashi-sensei to make a name for yourself, are you?"

"What?" Kazu looked appalled at the very thought, "No, not at all!"

"Okay then, that's good." Naruto let out a sigh of relief, not hearing Kazu's statement, "What did you say, again? I missed it."

"Is your team meeting today for a mission or training?" the question was repeated innocently.

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded enthusiastically, "We're going on a mission to the village hidden in the mist! We have to body-guard some old geezer on the way there."

"Ah, yes, of course." Kazu nodded, seemingly impressed, "That does sound important."

"Of course it is!" Naruto glanced at the clock. The hands told him it was a quartet till seven. Kakashi had told them to meet him by the gates at eight. The boy wasn't worried, though. The mysterious jounin wasn't known for being on time. "Hey, why don't I just show you where we're meeting Kakashi-sensei and then you can do whatever else you need to do. Are you new to the village?"

"You could say that." Naruto donned his trademark coat as Kazu spoke and pulled out a pair of regular closed-toe shoes.

"You need to go talk to the Hokage. He'll take care of getting you registered, it shouldn't take too long." Naruto zipped the coat up and put on a pair of threadbare mittens.

When they exited his apartment Naruto was surprised that Kazu hadn't asked why Naruto didn't lock his door. Usually the few guests that ever visited, such as Sakura or Kiba or Lee and occasionally Sasuke, asked him why he didn't. Usually he would make a joke about forgetting and lock it. Iruka never asked about locking his door when he came over to visit because he knew why.

No one was going to steal from the demon boy of the village.

**_ jazz hands, meanwhile in the future _**

Sasuke had memorized the jutsu in under a minute. Being the wielder of the infamous Sharingan eye had its perks. Orochimaru had been distinctly clear on what he should do.

The words from the letter echoed in his head as the Uchiha strode through the twilight. Do not attack until the chunin exams are underway. Give fair warning of the Hokage's death; it will be amusing to watch their dismay when they become fully aware of their incompetence compared to you. Sasuke took some amusement in the instructions.

Was he being tested? Or was Orochimaru just bored? The Uchiha snorted to himself. There was no reason for the snake sannin to be bored with such a fine piece of eyecandy by his side. He saw how Orochimaru flirted with his underling; it was almost sickening the way Kabuto was utterly oblivious to all of it.

The abandoned mansion that was used as Orochimaru's stronghold held no signs of life as Sasuke passed through the creaking wooden hallways. Most of the member had realized early on that the Uchiha prodigy was not someone to cross paths with.

As soon as he passed into the open environment of the outdoor courtyard he began the first symbols of the jutsu and minutes later there was the noise of soundwaves and light clashing together. Then it was silent, Sasuke was gone, leaving a smudge of black where he used to be standing.

**_Jazzhands BACK TO THE PAST! …_**

Naruto and Kazu had parted ways once the Hokage's house was in sight, promising to meet up later near the north gate of Konoha.

Naruto jumped onto a fence and began to walk down it, acrobat style, pretending he was hundreds of feet above the ground. The snow added to the charade in a way, Naruto pretended it was molten lava. He pretended he was the only one who could save the prisoner (a piece of cloth) at the end of the wire (fence). The daydream became more vivid as he neared the prisoner. Harsh winds were whipping the wire around and he nearly fell into the lava. The evildoer cackled from his seat in the clouds.

Naruto furrowed his brow and doggedly centered himself on the wire, despite his many injuries. A broken arm, (Naruto let his right arm fall limply at his side) and many cuts and bruises on his legs (his steps on the fence became slow and his strides shortened). As he neared the prisoner an annoying high-pitched voice cut through his daydream.

"Naruto? What are you doing?" Sakura laughed as he fell into a snow drift.

"Ah! Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted her, too surprised to be angry.

"What were you doing?" Sakura slowed her pace but didn't offer to help him up.

"Nothing, where you headed to?" Naruto grabbed the piece of cloth on the fence with a triumphant, but small, "Ha!" He turned back to the pink-haired genin like nothing had happened.

"The north gate, of course. Or have you forgotten about the mission?" She said flippantly and Naruto noticed her blue parka. It really didn't suit her.

"No!" he brushed excess snow off of himself and they began to make their way towards the gate. The whole way Sakura had fussed and worried about what Sasuke would think of her coat. Naruto had the strong urge to tell her that it clashed with her hair, but Sasuke probably wouldn't care anyway, seeing as he didn't like girls.

Naruto stopped himself, though. Why did he care? Ever since he had found out that Sasuke was gay at a sleepover with Kiba, his feelings towards the Uchiha had become… More than friendly.

Sakura was a crush of the past. The pink-haired girl was loud, annoying and Naruto absolutely could not stand her. Sure, she was okay sometimes, but not when she was around Sasuke. He sighed as they rounded the corner and came face to face with said Uchiha.

His back was turned to them and he was staring at a poster. Naruto crunched through the snow to greet him in his loud fashion. When Sasuke didn't answer, he became concerned and peered over his shoulder at the poster.

The bright red WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE glared at him and the picture of a man who looked remarkably like an older version of Sasuke looked over a dark shoulder to stare at them through blood lusting eyes.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura simpered, "What's wrong?"

"Yeah, come on bastard," Naruto tried to lighten the mood by calling the boy a name, "what's up? Who's that?"

Sasuke mumbled something and Naruto and Sakura leaned in to hear him better.

"Itachi." Sasuke ground out.

** FIN OF CHAPTER TWO!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Arg, I'm going on a camping trip to California tomorrow, I hope you all appreciate my posting this chap up for ya at 2 in the morning… XDD Actually, I've been up later, no biggie –mucho love to everyone reading this story-**

**Chapter Three**

Sasuke would not talk to Sakura or Naruto. An hour passed and eventually Kakashi showed up with the old bridge builder in tow.

Sasuke's reaction to the poster frightened Naruto. He had never seen the Uchiha react to something so strongly before. The boy had stood in front of the poster and glared ferociously. He had jerked back to life when Kakashi put a steady hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

"You have a mission to do. Thinking about Itachi will only slow you down." The jounin told him gently. After a minute, Sasuke nodded and they turned to leave.

Tazuna, which was the bridge-builder's name, turned out to be the worst client Kakashi had encountered in a long time. Not only did the old man complain about how the cold weather hurt his arthritis, but he also managed to piss Naruto off beyond belief. Although having the blonde boy as an enemy didn't exactly seem to faze Tazuna in the least (and Kakashi didn't blame him for it) it didn't exactly help with their mission either.

The jounin didn't consider himself a pessimist. But they had been walking for a good two hours at a cardio-pumping pace, and after encountering a puddle on a path that was frozen solid, Kakashi couldn't help thinking this journey was going to be a _long_ one.

His suspicions were confirmed when the puddle morphed into two very evil-looking ninja.

''''''''

The ninja introduced as Kazu, in earlier chapters, strode out of the Hokage's building and into the now crowded streets of Konoha. His brown, patched scarf was below his chin, revealing two rectangular patches of white medical tape on each cheek.

His talk with the Hokage had been long and impressive. He had signed in all the right places on a legal document (scroll, actually) that guaranteed him all the rights of a Konoha personnel. He had then registered himself as a full-fledged jounin, assuring the hokage that once again: he was not on the run from another village.

The cloak flapped open, revealing a long-sleeved, skin-tight black shirt with a dull orange vest pulled over it. His ensemble was complete with the bulky black pants most Ninja Marts carried. The sandals worn beforehand had been exchanged for much warmer, closed-toe shoes. (Courtesy of the Hokage)

He was attracting many stares from the villagers. He didn't blame them; after all, his appearance _was_ a bit outlandish compared to other shinobi. He had always stuck out in a small crowd; it had been that way since he was young. Even though his spiky blonde hair had grown out slightly, it refused to be tamed and still stuck out in every direction. With the exception of the bandages and the absence of the necklace, he was the spitting image of his father, the fourth hokage.

The nineteen-year-old Naruto avoided eye-contact and quickened his pace slightly. It made him uncomfortable to be the center of attention, it brought back too many bad memories. He would have run right over the top of poor Konohamaru if he hadn't ran into Ebisu first.

"Yeowch!" Ebisu toppled backwards.

Naruto looked up to see who he had hit and almost had a heart attack, "Ebisu-sama!" his eye caught on Ebisu's young charge, "Konohamaru-chan!"

"Who the he-CK" Ebisu corrected himself, "are you? How dare you speak to the honored grandson in such a way!"

"S-sorry!" Naruto pulled Ebisu to his feet in a fluid movement, brushing the indignant jounin off. He fumed silently at himself for being surprised. If this was the past, of course Ebisu and Konohamaru would be alive. Sasuke hadn't killed them yet.

'Great, now even more people were staring.' Whispers reached Naruto's keen ears.

"Who is that?"

"He just knocked over Ebisu- -Brilliant!"

"Does he look familiar to you?"

"Yeah-"

"He looks like the-"

Naruto schooled his face to not look embarrassed and promptly bowed to Ebisu and Konohamaru. Then he got the hell out of there. Hand signals were formed from memory and the ninja transported himself to the roof of the building above; then he took off sprinting.

------

_Lovely, _Kakashi snarled inwardly as he watched with an almost morbid fascination as Naruto froze up as one of the enemy ninja drew back his weapon to attack the blonde genin. _I should probably help..._ _no, wait, Sasuke to the rescue!_ Kakashi breathed out in relief as the Uchiha smashed the two enemy ninjas' heads together. _Well, that's one problem solved, what next?_

-----

(A/N:**YOU ALL BETTER READ THIS: Okay, since we have TWO Naruto's to keep track of now, I figured when I begin a scene change with the future Naruto I will put a plus sign to avoid confusion… Savvy?)**

Naruto walked down the snow covered path leading out of the village. Footprints of team seven and the bridge builder were barely visible under the thin dusting of snow that had fallen while Naruto had been talking to the Hokage.

Breathing in, he inhaled the scents of the forest. Now that the village was a good distance away, Naruto could actually sort out the individual smells of the wilderness. The faintest whiff of iron hinted in the breeze.

"Blood…" Naruto hugged his cloak closer to his body to preserve warmth and set off at a fast-paced jog.

---------

Well, today was looking bleak, Kakashi finally decided while bandaging Naruto's hand, which had been cut by one of the enemy ninja and then been sliced open by Naruto himself. _At least today can't get any worse. _

…

_Dammit._ _Today is just one of those days you just don't get out of bed. _Kakashi thought sourly as he watched his genin team conversing from the other side of the water-filled bubble (for lack of better word) he was trapped in. He looked to his left and saw the bastard who had trapped him, Zabuza, grinning manically through his bandages. Kakashi felt the strong urge to pull down his mask and stick his tongue out at him.

The jounin repressed the urge and settled for insulting the rogue ninja instead.

"Hey, you should really see a doctor about that." He said.

Zabuza took the bait, "Why would I need to see a doctor?"

"It's not healthy to have a gigantic stick shoved up your ass for long amounts of time, my friend."

The comment earned him a kunai in the shoulder. As blood flowed from the wound and made an interesting design in the surrounding water, Kakashi felt a sense of smugness lingering underneath the pain. Then he wondered how he was breathing in a bubble made of water. But he shrugged it off, there were bigger things that needed to be dealt with. (A/N: Seriously, go back and read the manga where he fights Zabuza the first time! Can he breathe? Who knows, maybe Kakashi has gills under his mask!)

--------

Naruto quickened his pace. The smell was getting stronger. He looked to the sky to check the sun's position, but the clouds blocked his way.

By the time Naruto passed the spot where the two shinobi had attacked the group, he was running at a full out sprint.

He arrived at the battle in time to see a gigantic wave crashing headlong into a man. Zabuza, if he remembered correctly. He walked over to the group of shinobi and Tazuna after a masked nin had taken away Zabuza's body. Holding up a nonchalant hand he greeted them.

"Ohayo, I hope I'm not interrupting anything!"

------

In the outskirts of Konoha, a man sat in the darkness of a cave, huddling around a small fire for some warmth against the blizzard outside. A frustrated sigh escaped his lips.

"I'm bored." Uchiha Sasuke stood and paced around the cave once, then twice and then another three times for good measure.

If there was any_thing_ Sasuke hated in this world, it was waiting. He hated the feeling of just sitting there when he could be doing something, or killing someone.

"Hmmm…" an idea struck the Uchiha and he smirked, "This is around the time that we had our first 'real' mission. Maybe I should go and reminisce."

---

To be continued!

Ok, to clear things up: **It is cold and miserable in Konoha, it's snowing and crap, so yeah, it'll play out easier in later chapters. Trust your authoress! You're in decent hands! Ufufufufu! If you didn't know it was snowing, then go back to the second chapter and imagine winter-wonderland-Konoha! Teehee, enjoy! And REVIEWW!**


	4. Chapter 4 BETAD!

**Awright! Chapter four!**

**Recap: **_-poof!- Naruto comes into the scene! (or should I say Kazu?) -cues scary music- and Sasuke is on the move!_

The group of ninja stared at the blonde jounin.

"Hey! It's you!" Naruto yelled happily and ran up to the stranger, "Kazu-nii-san!" (A/N:_Nii-san means big brother as does Aniki, Naruto sees Kazu as a brother, ironic ne?) _

Kakashi looked from Naruto to the newcomer, then back to Naruto again. "I think some introductions would be in order."

"Of course, Hatake-san." Kazu finished greeting Naruto and bowed respectively, "I am Umino Kazu. I am here to oversee you and your charge's safety."

"Wait, did you say _Umino_?" Sakura blinked, "I didn't know Iruka-sensei had a brother, or any family for that matter."

Naruto also looked up at him, confusion etched in his features. "It's a long and monotonous story that we really don't have time for." Kazu sighed.

In truth, it really was. When he was sixteen, Iruka had insisted on adopting him. Naruto had of course worried for his teacher's safety—adopting demon children wasn't too brilliant of an idea, after all. Iruka had been stubborn in his decision, though and wouldn't take no for an answer. The adoption papers had been signed and sent in secret to the Hokage, who verified them with gusto—happy that Naruto was finally getting a decent home with a decent parental figure.

Kazu looked a little younger than Iruka in Sakura's eyes, so it wasn't unusual that she would think of him as the said teacher's brother or second cousin twice removed…

Thankfully, Sakura and the others accepted his answer; and though Kakashi gave him a doubtful glare, the jounin grudgingly agreed to let him join them on their mission.

------------ ----------Uh oh! Sasuke time! ------------ ------------

Sasuke looked across the vast ocean of water that stretched between Konoha territory and the land of the Waves. He grinned wryly. How ironic that he would be back here, of all places; where he had bonded with his teammates.

He turned his back on Konoha and began to trek along the path of stones that lead to his and eventually team seven's destination. The deserter knew he was behind said team and their senile charge, by a few hours at least. That would give him plenty of time to sneak onto the island at dusk.

He dug through his memories to pass the time. What would he be doing right now? Ah, yes—he and the other genins would be loading their unconscious sensei into the boat that would ferry them to the employer's house. It had been a happy time for Sasuke. Sakura had mooned over him the whole time they were there and Naruto… Sasuke didn't want to think of him right now… not when he had just forgotten about the blonde…

Sasuke stumbled over a rock and jolted himself out of his memories. He still had a ways to go.

------------- --------------- -------------

The fight with Zabuza had taken a greater toll on Kakashi than Naruto had suspected. It was almost frightening to see the person he considered so powerful so... helpless. To take his mind off of the unpleasant reality, he looked around, meaning to start a conversation with someone, anyone. Sakura was too busy trying to engage Sasuke in conversation to pay any attention to Naruto, and Sasuke was too busy trying to ignore Sakura's attempts at breaking the ice. So he turned to Kazu.

"Kazu-nii-san!" The man turned and smiled at him, "Why do you have those bandages on your face? Did you get hurt?"

Sakura stopped her mindless babbling and Sasuke perked up at the question. Kazu paused for a moment then answered softly, "In a way…" but he would say no more on the subject.

Naruto blanched, hoping he hadn't offended him. Sakura changed the subject, "So what rank of ninja did you say you were, again?"

Kazu relaxed and closed his eyes in a smile, "I'm a jounin."

"Really?" Naruto gave him a look of surprise.

"This is a C-class mission, why would the Hokage send along a jounin?" Sasuke glared suspiciously at the older man.

"Things aren't always what they seem sometimes. Right, Tazuna-san?" Kazu smiled sincerely at the bridge builder, who paled and nodded.

-------- ---------

Tsunami, the twenty-eight-year-old daughter of Tazuna, stood on the dock in front of her house that also served as the front porch. A tug at the hem of her skirt made her look down—her son, Inari wanted to know where she kept the tea bags.

"They're in the right-hand drawer next to the stove, where the water is—be careful, the kettle is hot! Are you going to come back out?" she inquired.

Inari had always loved to watch the fishermen bringing in their day's haul; and they were coming in early today. Although it had never snowed in the land of the waves, their sister country of Konoha had blown in its cold weather from across the waters and with it came a larger-than normal amount of looki—who adored freezing water conditions. The dark-eyed boy shook his head no. Tsunami let him go; with Kaiza's death so fresh upon them it was only natural. The mother watched as two brown looki jumped from the water and dove back down into the depths.

Looki—pronounced "Low-key"—were the shy, glowing fish of legend that any fisherman worth his salt dreamed of catching. They had a strange characteristic in their DNA that made them glow at night, some were purple, some orange and many of them were silver, but rarest of all were the gold ones. Tsunami understood the anger of the fishermen as they sailed past her house, shouting exasperated 'ello ma'am!'s. The color of the looki was impossible to judge in daylight hours—they appeared brown in the sun—though it didn't stop the fishermen from trying. It was a beautiful sight at night, though.

Tsunami's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar voice calling to her. Her father was back… and he had brought guests… So naturally she was a little less than happy as the tall blonde of the group followed her in after her father and deposited a silver-haired man on the spare futon she had laid out in a matter of seconds.

Tazuna had taken her aside after that and told her of their travels. She marched into the room minutes later and saw Kakashi's—Tazuna had told her of each of the ninjas and Tsunami was good with names—three students lounging around. The pink-haired girl, Sakura was asking her sensei about the sharingan and the other two were playing a game of Ro Sham Bo (rock paper scissors).

"Are you alright, Sensei?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and staring down at the ninja.

"No, but I will be…" Kakashi began and then added as an afterthought, "in about a week."

"Hey, where's the fifth one of you?" Tsunami looked around for the tall blonde she had seen earlier.

"He went out." Naruto piped up, frowning at Sasuke as his rock symbol was defeated by his opponent's paper symbol. "You cheated, bastard."

"Did not, idiot." The reply was instantaneous.

"Naruto." Kakashi sighed, "Go get Kazu, he needs to be part of this conversation."

"What? Why me?" The boy whined.

"Because you know him better than we do." Kakashi rolled his visible eye in the blonde boy's direction.

"Fine…" He grumbled and exited.

"Are they related?" Tsunami asked as soon as Naruto had left.

"No, I believe not." Kakashi shrugged, "Naruto does call him 'Nii-san' but that's only because they know each other, I think…"

------------ ---

()Naruto looked out at the water. He had discarded his cloak inside, it was warm enough to go without it, but he still donned his orange vest. Orange was still his favorite color and while he couldn't parade around in his ridiculous orange jumpsuit, he could request a vest in the said color for everyday usage. He sat and skimmed his bare feet over the water-his shoes were discarded in the house next to his cloak.

"Nii-san!" He heard his younger self calling.

"Ja?" He called back.

"Kakashi-sensei wanted to talk to you." The younger Naruto (Codename: Naru) walked around the corner.

"What about?" Naruto pulled his feet out of the water and rose with a small grunt.

"No idea." Naru shrugged.

"Tell him I'll be there in five minutes tops, kay?" The jounin watched as the twelve-year old nodded energetically and turned to go and stopped.

There was something nagging at him, Naruto could tell, "What is it?" He asked.

"Umm…" Naru scratched the back of his head sheepishly, a gesture the nineteen-year-old used to this day, "sorry about earlier when I asked you about your…" he gestured to his cheeks. "I didn't mean to offend you…"

"You're still hung up about that?" Naruto laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, "Man, I—you really need to lighten up, its cool." He pushed him playfully, "I'll be there in a minute, I just want to get a little more fresh air."

"O-okay!" Naru hugged him around the middle and headed back to the room where Kakashi was.

Naruto sighed and took out a mission scroll from one of his pockets in his vest. It was directly from the Third, Sarutobi-sama. He put it away again.

_Not yet, it's too early_. He thought to himself.

_Flashback…………… dot dot dot……………_

Naruto had been summoned to the Hokage's office on a windy afternoon. He had been at lunch with Sakura and Kakashi-it was a team-seven get together… overlooking the fact that Sasuke joined forces with Orochimaru and was now considered a missing nin.

Sakura had long since become an accomplished medic-nin. Hinata had joined them half-way through and had shared some of her adventures as an ANBU in training. It had come as a surprise to them all when they found out Hinata—dear, sweet Hinata—was going to be in ANBU. Before they had had a chance to really talk a messenger had come and told Naruto to be in the Hokage's office right away.

So he had told his friends good-bye and he would get back as soon as he could, but not without hugs from all of them—Kakashi was a touchy-feely sort of person, Naruto had found out later in life.

Sarutobi had handed him two mission scrolls. One was the standard-looking scroll and the other looked like the ends were made of ivory and the seal on the outside was the golden seal of the Fourth. He looked at the Third in surprise.

"What's this?" His voice betrayed his confusion.

"Naruto, you know that the Fourth is your father." Sarutobi took a long drag of his pipe.

"Yes, you told me four years ago…" Naruto stared down at the scroll.

"I didn't feel you were ready for this scroll four years ago." The Hokage walked over to him and put a fatherly hand on his shoulder, "Your father gave this to me before he sealed the Kyuubi into you. I would not advise you to read it now, but wait until you are alone and do not have any obligation to protect someone, do you understand me?" Naruto nodded.

"Good." The older man retook his seat. "Now onto the task at hand."

_End flashback! cliffhanger oh noez!_

Naruto entered into Kakashi's room and leaned against the wall, "You wanted to see me?"

"While you were outside we've decided that Zabuza is not dead and that the masked kid isn't really a shinobi hunter!" Sakura informed him.

"You don't say!" Naruto tried to make the statement sound convincing, but he didn't do as well as he had hoped because Kakashi looked at him strangely. "Anyway, Kakashi-sensei. What did you need me for?"

"Well, as you can see: in my current state of being I am in no shape to train a genin team, so I was wondering if you could take over for me for a day or two?" The copy-nin asked smoothly.

"Wow! That would be really cool Nii-san!" Naru exclaimed. Sakura blushed and nodded. Even Sasuke looked interested in the prospect of a new sensei.

"Well, how can I say no?" Naruto agreed, "I'll do it."

"Hooray!" Two of the three genin jumped up happily and Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Alright, you three go do something that doesn't involve being in this room," Kakashi ordered and the three students filed out of the room. "Do you have a good memory?" Naruto nodded, "Excellent, then here's the lesson plan."

Tsunami was working in the kitchen, talking to her father, when the three ninja walked in. Inari looked up from his spot at the kitchen table as the threesome sat down to join him…

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_Now we all know what's going on with Naruto and co and the future Sasuke, but what's happening with Kabuto and Oro-kun?_

Sending Sasuke to the past to kill the Hokage had been amusing for a moment or so. Now Orochimaru was bored again. What did other evil masterminds do for fun while they were waiting for their minions to carry-out their bidding? Oh yeah, most evil masterminds had concubines or lovers to amuse themselves with.

Now where could he find one of those…

_Kabuto, if you happen to be on fanfiction dot net reading this story, **RUN.** _

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, when Kabuto came into the room, wearing an apron and carrying a sandwich. "Here, my lord." He smiled as he offered the sandwich to the snake sannin.

"Just set it down somewhere." Orochimaru leaned back and watched Kabuto with sharp eyes that missed nothing.

"Yes, my lord." Kabuto was obviously confused, but did as he was bidden. Turning his back on the man, he set the plate down on the nearest thing he could find that wasn't the floor. It happened to be a pedestal just a few feet away, near to the wall.

… _Oh Kabuto, you poor, poor soul, you are doomed, my friend_.

The ninja had put the plate down and was about to turn around when he felt someone pressing up against him. He hadn't heard anyone coming up behind him, but reason told him there was. Whirling, he found himself face to face with Orochimaru.

Kabuto decided he did not like the odd gleam in his lord's eye and then as said man pushed him against the wall and began to ravish him, well maybe that wasn't so bad—weird, but not bad. A shiver of pleasure escaped him at the snake sannin whispered into his ear.

"Kabuto, it must have been so hard for you all these years, keeping your true nature hidden…" Orochimaru slipped his hand under his underling's shirt and began to explore the pale skin underneath, earning an involuntary shudder from the man beneath him. "Let me make it up to you." Kabuto felt a cold hand under his chin and he was looking up into a pair of golden eyes. The ninja moaned as the lord's hand stopped its roaming. Maybe that was just as well, though—Orochimaru had placed his own thin lips to Kabuto's.

Just as the minion had placed his arms around Orochimaru's neck, a man burst through the doors. It was Rikki's second day on the job and he had it in his mind that he would be the best and the greatest of Orochimaru's followers. Unfortunately he had not read the entire rulebook on being a minion/underling, so he did not know that barging in on your master's snog-fest with another man was a no-no.

"Umm… I'll come back later…" He had said meekly as Orochimaru glared daggers at him. As Rikki dashed off he tripped on something and was pulled into a room adjacent to the snake sannin's. Many of Orochimaru's women followers looked at him with adoring eyes.

"Did you see them?" One whispered. The others barely contained their giggles.

----- --------- and to end the chapter-----------------

Sasuke walked silently over the expanses of water that would lead him to his quarry. The sun had set minutes ago and a glowing in the water made him look down. A golden fish swam around him in a circle; it was beautiful—a word that Sasuke had never used to describe anything save for one person.

So Sasuke stood in place, not wanting to scare it away. The fish was joined by another, and this one did not glow so brightly. Its silvery scales looked burnt with ash and was it not for the other fish, the silver fish looked like it would disappear into the blackness of the water…

The two fish circled around each other, brushing against the other's fins every so often. When the gold fish left, in pursuit of a bug a few meters away, the silver fish circled around Sasuke twice—as if it were unsure of what it was doing—then disappeared into the darkness of the water. The golden fish returned moments later and circled around Sasuke, looking for its partner. It stopped and fanned its transparent fins for a moment, then took off towards the shoreline. Sasuke paused for a moment, calming his rushed thoughts before following after the golden fish.

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Whoa! Chapter four is finished! Hope you all enjoyed! MAKE SURE TO R&R! -smiles- ;P sorry it took me so long to update.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE!**

**(SWEET! I just found the little middle text align thing!)**

Naruto walked through the forest; leading Sasuke, Naru and Sakura to his old training ground-uncomfortable because of the three stares burning into his back. They entered into a clearing and Naruto stopped and turned to face them. "This looks like a good place to stop!" He grinned.

"What are we doing here?" Sakura looked around at the surrounding trees, "I thought you were going to train us…"

"We are going to be climbing trees!" Naruto gestured with a flourish.

"WHAT?" Naru yelled, "How is that going to help us!"

"The fool has a point." Sasuke looked disbelieving, "How will climbing trees help us beat Zabuza and the kid in the mask? I understand it strengthens our arms, but still…"

Naruto grinned devilishly, "Who said we were going to be climbing with our arms?"

"WHAT!" The surprised cry rang through the woods.

"You heard me." Naruto focused chakra into his feet—making sure the genin saw what he did—and walked up the tree to hang upside-down to look down on the three. "Your chakra control is laughable!" He lectured, "If you want to live to be chunin—even jounin—you must first learn chakra control! The enemy will not give you time to sit and finish your genjutsu! Everything you do must be on your feet. To be slow is to ask for death."

He let himself drop and flipped to land on his feet. "Any questions? No? Well, don't just sit there and stare at me, get to work!"

Naruto left a clone in his place to oversee the students and make sure no one killed each other. He chuckled to himself as he heard the anguished yells of anger that his younger self made. Naruto let his hand drift to the inside pocket of his vest, the scroll was still tucked securely inside. He would open it tomorrow.

He let his feet take him where they would and before long he was in the town, walking among the staring villagers. One man bumped into him and fell backwards. "Sorry!" Naruto helped him up and brushed him off, feeling self-conscious—he hadn't meant o make a scene. The man took off as soon as Naruto let him go. Ruefully shaking his head, the jounin allowed himself a smile as he thought of what the man would look like as soon as he found out the wallet he had "taken" was a fake.

Eventually Naruto turned towards the direction of Tazuna's house-but not before he caught a glimpse of something black in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw nothing, but the feeling of someone watching him from the shadows did not dissipate until he was on the rock-laden path to the bridge-builder's hut.

As Naruto walked, he thought of the person in black. Something had seemed familiar about him-for it couldn't have been a girl with _that_ hair-do. The blonde had reached the house before he knew it and had tripped over his former sensei as he rounded the corner. With a yelp the blonde jounin fell head-over-heels into the freezing water. Kakashi blinked in surprise and watched as the other ninja thrashed around until he had found the ladder to the dock and pulled himself onto it—shivering.

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Kakashi had to give Kazu the benefit of the doubt about not seeing him at the water's edge. When Kazu actually _tripped _ over the silver-haired jounin, well that was pushing it a little.

"C-cold!" Kazu gasped as he pulled himself onto the dock in front of Kakashi. "A-aren't you supposed to be in bed, resting?" The man's teeth were chattering.

"I wouldn't be worried about me, if I were you." Kakashi lifted an eyebrow at him, "Go inside and change before you get hypothermia."

"Okay." Kazu hastened to do what he was told.

The copy ninja raised himself to his feet and retrieved the crutches by his side and then followed the younger man indoors. Tsunami looked over at them when she heard the door open. Her eyes took in Kazu's soaked form and she glared at Kakashi—who shrugged.

"Inari," she spoke to her son in a voice that barely concealed her anger, "go get some blankets and towels from he closet." The child nodded and did as he was instructed.

"What the hell were you thinking!" She snarled at the blonde jounin, who looked positively terrified of her, "Hypothermia is not a laughing matter! I had hoped that his…" She pointed a finger at Kakashi, "recklessness wouldn't rub off onto you too!"

Kakashi scowled, it wasn't his fault they had been attacked. If there was anyone to be blamed, it was Tazuna for not telling them he was a wanted man! "You speak as if I'm his role-model." He only replied to her comment.

"You're older than him, aren't you?" She had wrestled the blonde jounin's vest off of him and threw a towel over Kazu's head, blinding him. "Arms up!" She commanded, as if he were a toddler. Kazu had grudgingly obeyed and Tsunami tossed the black shirt in a corner and moved to his pants.

"I can get those, Tsunami-sama!" Kazu had danced away from the woman's touch.

"Fine, I'll get you a dry pair of boxers, Tazuna won't care." Tsunami shrugged and went into the other room.

Kazu stripped off the pants and stood shivering as he waited for the woman to come back. Kakashi had, by now, sat down and was watching him through a coal-black eye. Kazu noticed this and glared at him, "What?"

"You aren't related to Iruka, are you?" The jounin drawled.

"Actually, I am." Kazu turned red as he saw the copy ninja's gaze fall to his stomach.

Kakashi looked over the other's body with interest—Kazu's body was almost devoid of scars, except for one place. Right below Kazu's ribcage, there was a dark scar that looked like something big had attempted to push its way through the man's body. "What's that from?" (A/N: Naruto's seal doesn't appear on his stomach unless he is concentrating his chakra.)

Kazu looked down in surprise, "This? Well, erm…" he stammered. Luckily, he was saved as Tsunami threw a pair of worn-out checkered boxers in his direction

When Kazu turned Kakashi was surprised to see the partner to the scar on the front, on his back. Tsunami turned around and Kakashi averted his eyes respectively as Kazu changed into Tazuna's boxers. When he did look again, he saw Tsunami wrapping a thick, quilted blanket around Kazu while sitting him down across from Kakashi. Kazu smiled genuinely at the bridge builder's daughter and she smacked him across the head.

"I don't want anymore funny-business out of you, got it? I need to go get some things from town and Inari is coming with me." She glared at the two suddenly 'irresponsible' jounin. Only when they had promised to behave, had she nodded to Inari and left.

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Naruto waited until he couldn't hear the sound of their feet on the deck and got up. Kakashi looked at him questioningly and Naruto only shrugged before going over to his vest. He pulled out the scroll Sarutobi had given him and held it underneath the blanket as he returned to his seat. Luckily, the scroll hadn't gotten wet—for this  
Naruto was very relieved.

"It isn't my way to be nosy, but what's that?" Kakashi asked bluntly.

"This?" Naruto blinked and unveiled the scroll from his blanket, holding it in front of Kakashi.

"Yes." The jounin instructor's only visible eye narrowed dangerously, "This has the Fourth Hokage's seal on it. Who gave this to you?"

"Sarutobi-sama gave it to me." Naruto gently handed the scroll to his former sensei, "I will ask that you do not open it… it is for my eyes only."

Kakashi took the scroll into shaking hands. The copy-nin stared at it for a moment, and then handed it back to Naruto. "There's no way this is just a list of things to do, not if it has his seal on it. Mind me asking why only you can read it?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow at him. Was his former sensei _jealous?_ "Sorry." Kakashi looked away, "He used to be my sensei." _Well, that explains some things…_

"You're forgiven." Naruto leaned back. "Try not to feel too angry—it'll give you pre-mature wrinkles. Besides, I didn't even know about this" he indicated the scroll, "until two days ago." Naruto deliberately avoided his question, deciding it was time for a change of subject, "Say; how old are you anyway?"

"What?" Kakashi was caught off-guard.

He repeated the question. Kakashi blinked owlishly, obviously displeased with Naruto's previous answers, "I'm twenty-five, why do you ask?"

"Whoa." Naruto stared at him. "I would've guessed you were, like, thirty or something. You know, 'cause of your hair."

"Well, how old are you?" Kakashi looked mildly offended.

"Twenty." Naruto replied. He was amazed that Kakashi was so young, only thirteen years older than he would have been. "Still, that's really cool that you're twenty-five—Iruka-sensei is only a few years younger than you, isn't he?"

"You and Iruka are family, right?" Kakashi asked. The other was hiding something; the copy-ninja didn't need his sharingan to tell him that.

"Well, we're not blood related, I'm his adopted son." Naruto explained—then swore moments later when he realized his error.

"Iruka's son?" Kakashi leaned in on his elbows, looking up at Naruto, "Well, well—this is turning out to be better than I expected! So tell me: what else have you been keeping from me?"

Naruto looked at his sensei, suddenly serious. "I've known you for a long time, Kakashi-sensei. I'm sure you can keep a secret, can you?"

The copy nin blinked, "Of course," he scoffed, "but you are aware that we've only just met-you couldn't have known me for a long time beforehand."

Naruto looked down at the polished wood floors, displeasure shown clearly on his visage. He reached up and began to peel off the bandages from his face. Kakashi watched keenly as three familiar, whisker-like scars emerged from beneath the medical tape. Naruto's blue eyes, now dulled with age and worry stared up at the copy nin.

"It's me, Kakashi-sensei. It's Naruto."

The only visible eye in Kakashi's head almost bugged out of its socket as the second piece of medical tape came off. He blinked, not sure whether to believe the man or not. It certainly was a good illusion. This so-called 'Naruto' had his twelve-year-old Naru's basic features: blue eyes, the whisker-like scars, and the bright yellow hair—the only thing missing was the idiotic grin.

"Okay 'Naruto', I'll humor you. What's your story?" Kakashi drummed his fingers on the table.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. He reached up a hand to scratch the back of his neck and he laughed nervously, "Ah, well. I didn't think you'd believe me…"

"Don't worry, I don't." Kakashi smiled and his eye curved into a happy arch. "There's no way there could be two Naruto's at once unless one of you is a doppelganger."

Naruto frowned, _why doesn't he use the sharingan? _"So why are you bothering to hear me out?"

"Because I'm bored." _I should have guessed…_

"…" Naruto glared at him, then sat back in his chair, "Fine, seeing as you're the only one around here that would understand what I'm saying I guess I'll tell you then." Naruto made a few hand signs and smacked his hand on the table. Kakashi looked at him strangely. "I just made sure no one would be listening in on our conversation." Naruto explained, "Sarutobi-sama's life is hanging in the balance, you know."

"You have my attention…" Kakashi regarded him coolly.

"I am twenty years old, if you already forgotten." Naruto began, "I was sent back in the time eight years to be here. Konoha spies had given us word in the future that someone was planning to send an assassin back in time to kill the Hokage." Kakashi kept his silence, but didn't like the term 'someone'—it meant something bigger was going on, and that he wasn't supposed to know about it.

"So how long have you been a jounin, Naruto? I must've done something good to get you that far." Kakashi joked, trying to dissipate the air of darkness that had seemed to somehow seep into the room.

Naruto's lips twitched, "So I take it you believe me?"

"Just answer the question."

"Since I was thirteen." Kakashi blinked in surprise, "I'm not as stupid as I pretend to be, Kakashi-sensei. Try not to feel too badly, you didn't find out about it until I was sixteen..." Naruto looked at his nails and pulled the blanket tighter around himself, "I was planning on telling you and Sakura-chan when I was fourteen… but then some things happened and…"

They were cut off by the sound of a pink-haired genin coming through the door. Naruto released his jutsu and hurriedly slapped the medical tape across his scars while Sakura was busy undoing her sandals at the door.

Kakashi could almost strangle her. He hated to admit it, but he wanted to know what could have happened to his loud-mouthed blonde genin to make him into a battle-hardened jounin at the age of thirteen—yes, he did believe Naruto when he said he was from the future; this too, was hard to admit.

'We'll continue this later…' Naruto mouthed at the silver-haired jounin, and he nodded.

"Sakura-chan! What are you doing back so early?" Naruto greeted her and Kakashi wondered why hadn't seen the similarities before.

"Oh! Kazu-sensei, _you_ told me to go back because I was doing so well…" her mood went from confused to angry, "You left us with a DOPPLEGANGER!"

"Well, yes." Naruto responded with a grin. Sakura still looked agitated. Naruto was sure that 'Inner Sakura' had a few choice words for him, but Sakura only looked at his clothing lying on the floor in the corner and glanced back at him—clad only in the blanket—and blushed.

"Wh-what happened? Are you wearing anything underneath that blanket?"

"Well…" Naruto blew an offending piece of bang out of his face—to no avail—and answered cryptically, "I was walking upon the path of life when I came upon Kakashi-sensei sitting on the dock and seeing as I was busy living the dream I tripped over him into the water." He smiled at her and indicated his damp hair. "I do suppose I should be getting dressed, though." Naruto stood and gathered up his clothing. Sakura turned around and blushed as he pulled on his layer of black. Naruto shivered against the cold material clinging to his skin; his doppelganger had contacted him—something wasn't right at the training grounds-he needed to leave _now._

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Sasuke watched in amusement as his younger self fell from the tree he had been assigned to climb. A man he didn't remember stood below him. Sasuke deliberately avoided looking at the blonde genin sitting at the bottom of a tree, rubbing the back of his head. The instructor below him had begun to make hand signals and Sasuke barely had time to move before lightening struck the branch he had perched on. The two genin flinched and the instructor sprinted for them. He had only managed to grab the young Sasuke (codename:Sasu) before the eighteen-year-old Sasuke lodged a kunai in his back. The blonde instructor disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke activated the double sharingan. He had killed the doppelganger… so where was the original…

----------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------

Naruto blinked as Kazu disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The kyuubi holder ran to Sasuke and helped him up.

"We have to go." He slung one of the Uchiha's arms around his neck and supported the other boy's weight with his other hand. They hadn't made it very far until a shower of kunai rained down in front of them. Naruto swore. The situation wasn't looking too bright. The tree-climbing exercise had drained Naruto's chakra and his stamina—Sasuke wasn't looking too great either. The dark-haired boy was breathing heavily and his eyes looked glazed over.

Naruto glared around, looking for their attacker. "Looking for me?" a cold, silent voice asked from behind him.

Naruto whirled around, kunai raised—and saw no one. Pivoting back to his previous direction he almost ran into a tall man in all black. Looking up, Naruto paled as he saw two blood-red eyes staring down at him. He was paralyzed on the spot. The man said nothing more, though. He just stared at him, a mixture of anger and something else swirling in those strange eyes of his.

An animalistic roar ripped through the clearing and the man snapped his head up to see something yellow running _very _fast at him. The yellow flash hit the man at full speed, effectively knocking the air out of both of them. Naruto could only watch in a daze as Kazu pinned the dark stranger to the ground and yelled back at him to run.

"Nii-san?" his voice quavered.

"RUN!" Kazu bellowed—struggling to keep the man pinned. Naruto snapped to his senses and bolted, dragging the half-conscious Uchiha with him.

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Kakashi and Sakura had not been sitting in the kitchen long before Naruto burst open the door and dragged Sasuke into the room. "Something's wrong with him!" He cried, "I've tried, but I can't get him to wake up! I think that man who attacked us did something!"

Kakashi moved as fast as he could to his student's side. "What's going on? What man?"

"Kazu's dealing with him right now!"

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Hey peeps! Hop you all enjoyed this chapter! I hope none of you were too confused? O.o? review if you enjoyed or have suggestions! The next chapter should be longer hopefully!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**(Thanks for the reviews, guys! Sorry it took me so long! Highschool leeches away your free time! DX)**

_Kakashi thinking _

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* * *

**

Two hours had passed.

The elder Naruto had not returned, and Sasuke had not woken up.

Kakashi watched stoically as his Naruto paced back and forth. The copy nin could almost see the wrinkles forming on his young charge's brow. Sakura had not said a word. She sat next to the unconscious form of the Uchiha and stared at the wall.

He didn't like this. Not one bit. He didn't like to sit idly by and watch his teammates die, not again. Sure, Sasuke looked like he was only sleeping but Kakashi knew differently. A closer look revealed the boy's chakra being leeched away. At this rate he would need a chakra transfusion—something Kakashi himself was not ready to attempt. A cough drifted in from outside the door and Naruto threw it open. Kazu stood in the doorway; leaning against the frame for support. Kakashi noted, with some concern, that blood ran freely down the left side of his face—a cut near his hairline, most likely. The bandages were beginning to peel off; but Kazu paid no heed. His eyes had wandered to where Sasuke lay. He limped over to the fallen Uchiha's side and lifted one of the boy's eyelids. The ninja swore under his breath.

"Naruto," His voice was commanding, "come here." The genin hastened to his side. "Put your right hand over Sasuke's eyes and try to imagine some of your chakra transferring into him."

"Why? What's wrong with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura demanded, "Why does Naruto have to be the one to do this? He has the poorest chakra control of our class, if anyone should attempt this, it should be me!" the poor kunoichi's voice had taken on a hysterical note.

"Sakura-chan, get a hold of yourself." Kazu snapped. Sakura looked down, her eyes watering. Kazu sighed and scratched the back of his head, "Listen, Sakura-chan, the man who attacked us in the clearing did something that is leeching Sasuke's power. Naruto has enough chakra to support both himself and Sasuke until I can find a way to undo this." He explained gently. "Naruto also has the strongest connection to him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked defensively.

"You know what I mean; now do what I told you." Kazu calmly gazed back at the genin. Naruto reddened and closed his eyes, placing his right hand over the Uchiha's eyes.

"What do you mean he has the strongest connection to him?!" Sakura was forming conclusions in her head that weren't far from the truth.

He shushed her saying, "They're friends, Sakura-chan. Try to be quiet; Naruto needs to concentrate."

* * *

--(with Future Naruto) Kakashi had finally had the chance to pull Naruto aside to talk to him about what had happened. The teacher glowered at his former student. "Explain." He demanded.

Naruto sat on the dock and patted the ground next to him, indicating that this would take some time. Kakashi sat and waited as the other ninja began to wipe the blood from his face. "Maybe I should begin with _why_ I'm here."

_Second flashback! **Woot!**_

Sarutobi had settled into his chair and watched as Naruto put the fourth's scroll into his vest pocket and came to attention. "Good," He smiled, "now onto the task at hand. Tell me what you know about time travel."

Naruto almost fell over from the randomness of the question; but he dutifully replied to his Hokage that he thought it was impossible. He was correct. Time travel took up too much chakra, and therefore no one had been able to attempt such a daring feat in years—no one as in a normal person… Naruto (as we all know) is not a normal person (neither is Sasuke, for that matter; but he's an ass, and this isn't his part of the story, so there…)

"Mm," Sarutobi nodded sagely and grinned at the blonde through hooded-eyes, "for one such as myself, time travel _would_ be impossible; but for you, Naruto, it isn't."

"What are you saying?"

"One of our spies has informed us that Orochimaru is planning to send one of his men back in time to assassinate me. We do not know who or how many he is going to be sending, so I am sending you. You are the strongest ninja we have at our disposal." Sarutobi watched Naruto with careful eyes. "Will you accept?"

"I am your tool, Hokage-sama. All you need to do is ask." Naruto bowed. Sarutobi's eyes saddened, but he handed another scroll to the bowing ninja, and dismissed him.

"Naruto," He said softly as the door closed and left him alone in the room, "if Orochimaru's men do not kill me in the past, I will not hold you responsible for your actions either. You've been given a chance to change Konoha forever; whether it is for the better or not, that is your choice."

Naruto stood rooted outside of the wooden doors while he listened to his leader's final words and closed his eyes. "Thank you, Sarutobi."

_End of flashback…_

"The person Orochimaru sent, though." Naruto stopped and looked at Kakashi's faced for his reaction. Seeing none, Naruto continued rather self-consciously, "It was Sasuke." Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at him so Naruto explained about Sasuke's past and reason for revenge.

"So how does it affect you? I know you two are becoming friends, but…"

"We were…" Naruto struggled for the right word, a lump had grown in his throat, but he spat out the words as if they were a bad taste in his mouth, "lovers, I suppose. The feeling obviously wasn't as mutual as I thought it was."

"Naruto…" Kakashi did something unexpected then. He went to Naruto and he hugged him tightly. Naruto froze for a moment, not sure how he should react. "You don't have to do anything," Kakashi said, "sometimes you need to be hugged; it reminds you that you're still human." His sensei, the fourth, had said the same words to him when he was in ANBU, a year before the Kyuubi attack.

Naruto's eyes were burning, and he knew that he was crying. Kakashi only held him tighter as Naruto shook softly and buried his face into the jounin's vest.

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ARG! So sorry that the chapter was so short! Bad author! –gets bricked- anyways, this should make things easier to write in the future! Hopefully… 


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